tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544913458028415917.post7130041499202115606..comments2024-02-24T03:14:25.170-05:00Comments on A Half Baked Life: Feminisms, and The Diary of a Submissive: BlogHer Book ClubJustine Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14190295175501659469noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544913458028415917.post-30475412248223106832012-10-23T09:07:36.015-04:002012-10-23T09:07:36.015-04:00A very thoughtful and interesting review.I passed ...A very thoughtful and interesting review.I passed on this book when it came into my inbox for BHBC, but appreciate that you chose to read it and that I got to hear your take on it.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04175833982955486083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544913458028415917.post-83119100962879889392012-10-18T22:59:15.377-04:002012-10-18T22:59:15.377-04:00What a great review. I raises a lot of interesting...What a great review. I raises a lot of interesting questions. I too wonder how someone could be a self-proclaimed feminist and put themselves at the submissive end of a dominant/submissive relationship. But then again, feminism is all about choice and if a woman CHOOSES to enter into a relationship like that, that is what being a feminist is all about. Just like you can be a SAHM who never works a day in her life outside the home, and still be a feminist. Feminism is about women having a choice to do whatever they want, whether it be currently acceptable to society or not. <br /><br />Very interesting review. I just might read that book. Esperanzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12375150088333673843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544913458028415917.post-38872078200429479542012-10-18T21:34:28.585-04:002012-10-18T21:34:28.585-04:00My answer is no; when it is yes, it's usually ...My answer is no; when it is yes, it's usually too late, although 'too late' is a poor choice of words. I mean it in the sense that the conversation doesn't come about for its own sake, which is what should be happening. It comes about after what's done is done, what's said is said, what's wrong is wronged. So much of that wouldn't even happen in the first place if trust and communication were valued at the level they deserve. I know I value them a lot more now that I can't take them for granted.Aprilhttp://rsativus.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544913458028415917.post-86448792845978587892012-10-18T14:02:16.155-04:002012-10-18T14:02:16.155-04:00This sounds like a read the provokes lots of think...This sounds like a read the provokes lots of thinking and clarifying of one's own positions. I like the way you make the personal the political: " if these conversations and negotiations don't happen at home, how can they happen in the public sphere?"<br /><br />The comment section makes me wonder about teaching yoga. I've always thought I shouldn't pursue it because there are so many poses I can't do. May never be able to do (even basic ones!). But. What if I could teach even the ones I can't do? What if there is even an extra value to students of me doing that?<br /><br />Weird how I got from D/s to yoga.Lori Lavender Luzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15394441222262940632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544913458028415917.post-56329012000633847822012-10-18T13:24:59.477-04:002012-10-18T13:24:59.477-04:00@Mel: I mean talk both within the relationship and...@Mel: I mean talk both within the relationship and as a society ABOUT our relationships. And that maybe both kinds of talk happen together. But this is something I've been worrying over for a while, since we started to see so much legislation passed attempting to control women's bodies. At first I was angry at the women who would vote for Akin. But perhaps they're like Sophie Morgan, too; perhaps they have chosen a different way of being in the world. Though it's less about choice, I think that your WS professor is a great example; I agree that suffering from anorexia doesn't mean you can't believe in the importance of teaching about body image. In fact, it may mean that you believe in it even more passionately ... because you can understand, even if through a clouded lens, what those unreasonable expectations are doing to you.<br /><br />@M: thanks ... heading over to yours now!Justine Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190295175501659469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544913458028415917.post-56228464446830992212012-10-18T11:27:35.703-04:002012-10-18T11:27:35.703-04:00Do you mean talk within the relationship about tho...Do you mean talk within the relationship about those things or talk as a society about those things?<br /><br />Reading your review made me think about Biden's comment in the VP debate about being Catholic and yet not foisting his beliefs on others via policy. Is it possible outwardly be a feminist, to support women and believe in the strength of women and to privately be submissive? We had a question like this come up in college when a professor in the Women Studies dept was suffering from anorexia. Could she be a teacher for a women's health class when she wasn't taking care of herself physically? Is she capable of teaching what she cannot do herself due to mental illness? I think she could -- I think humans are complicated (as you say) and we can balance both the outward and the personal. But not everyone agreed.Lollipop Goldsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01020874415819057995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5544913458028415917.post-1418917533292892072012-10-18T08:29:59.485-04:002012-10-18T08:29:59.485-04:00This is an excellent assessment, and a thoughtful ...This is an excellent assessment, and a thoughtful review. I, too, thought the book was compelling and well-written, but could have used just a little more time to pull it together. I also had to push through the graphic scenes that took me way beyond my comfort level, and struggle with how narratives like this play into the political arena. Especially now.mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07830332489753742950noreply@blogger.com